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02 December 2012

Bookshelf-Based Random Adventure Generator

Using but a few dice, your bookshelf, and the blueprint below, you will be able to design/improvise a fully-fledged role-playing adventure. Here's how.

First, get hold of 1D6, 1D30, and 1D100. Each adventure seed is based upon SIX books from your bookshelf, and information from within those books randomly extracted using the results of the dice rolls.

THE RANDOM ADVENTURE GENERATOR
For each one of those six books, roll five dice, in the following order:

Roll 1D6. Check the results of the roll: 1-3: use the top shelf; 4-6: use the bottom shelf. Of course if you have more than two shelves use a different die.

Roll 1D6. Check the results of the roll: 1-3: start counting from the left; 4-6: start counting from the right.

Roll 1D30. Count as many books from either the left or the right, depending on the previous die roll.

Roll 1D100. Count as many pages. Using the guidelines from the blueprint, choose the relevant element from within the page.

From within BOOK ONE, choose an NPC (person, sentient creature, god...).

From within BOOK TWO, choose a LOCATION (city, hex, place, building, planet...).

From within BOOK THREE, choose a PERSON or an OBJECT.

From within BOOK FOUR, choose an NPC.

From within BOOK FIVE, choose a LOCATION.

From within BOOK SIX, pick up something interesting (this is the 'freer' choice you get): a situation, a political party, a magical item, a cult, a disease, weather type... anything!

Then using the SIX elements from the above list, fill in the following blueprint:

The Player Characters start their adventure in their home town/hex/current location in the campaign. __________ asks the PCs to go to __________ to retrieve __________. The PCs will end up fighting against __________ in __________. During the course of the adventure, __________ will feature prominently.

OK, let's get started...

Let's use this system to draw up two adventure seeds. We will see that the first one will end up having the potential for a fully-fledged campaign!

ADVENTURE SEED No.1(no cheating, genuine rolls!)

Book ONE
a: 6- bottom shelf
b: 5- start from right
c: 12- book No.12: The Complete Dreamlands (Chaosium)
d: 4- start from end
e: 94- p.94 from the end, i.e., p91Guardians of the Crystallizers of Dreams (Lesser Servitor Race) — see the picture above.

So here's the full text:The Player Characters start
their adventure in their home town/hex/current location in the campaign. A Guardian of the Crystallizers of Dreams asks the PCs to go to New Pavis to retrieve Bishop Jestocos the Stern. The
PCs will end up fighting against the Senvaros League in Dokat's ruins. During the
course of the adventure, spoken magic will feature prominently.

Now this is very, very Gloranthan, and has already given me a thousand ideas for a long game set in Third Age Glorantha, using the RuneQuest or HeroQuest rules!

ADVENTURE SEED No.2

To widen up the scope of the adventure, I will add more bookshelves (most of the books I'm currently using are focused on Glorantha). I'll be using 12 bookshelves (incl. comics and history books), and hence a D12.

Book ONEDinosauri (Stratelibri)Cynognathus. Now this a non-sentient creature, so I'll swap it with the results from Book Four.

Wow! Quite a difference with the previous one... Here's the full text of the second adventure seed (remember I am swapping books One and Four):The Player Characters start
their adventure in their home town/hex/current location in the campaign. Harry Osborn asks the PCs to go into a church to retrieve works of art, books, and documents. The
PCs will end up fighting against cynognathus in a jazz joint. During the
course of the adventure, Wolverine will feature prominently.

The Player Characters start their adventure in their home town/hex/current location in the campaign. Paul Karl Feyerabend asks the PCs to go to Navarre to contact a person of the Tǔjiā ethnic minority. The PCs will end up fighting against Eshrigel the Medusa in Nineveh. During the course of the adventure, yellow catalpa trees will feature prominently.